Now The Story Behind The 68 Z.
This car was brought to life on a Friday back on December 22nd of 1967. It was shipped from the Van Nuys plant to Capitol Chevrolet in Austin, Texas. From there the information is uncertain presently until I was able to find registration history dated 05/10/1972 were it was registered to a gentleman in the armed forces by the name Donald A Dixon when he was stationed at Kelly AFB. At some point either before or after Mr. Dixon's purchase of the car the Camaro was traded in and sold through Armstrong Johnson which was a Ford dealership (now Lief Johnson) in Austin Texas which the car still has a dealer emblem on the tailpan. From there the lead goes cold again until it arrives in Nashville, TN in 1975 on a used car lot where the previous own Randy bought the car and was told it was a trade-in from a sheriff.
Randy was a senior in high school and was excited to have the Camaro. 1975 was also the year my family moved to Lebanon, TN and immediately; being the Camaro fanatic that he was, dad spotted the Camaro and eventually got to talking to the young man about his new purchase. Randy graduated and began his college studies at MTSU (parking sticker still on the bumper). Realizing; like many youth, that college was not for him he had acquired a position at the United States Postal Service in Nashville and began working. Now by late 1979 to 1980 Randy had purchased other cars as daily drivers and he decided he was going to restore the red Camaro. One night I can remember my father getting a call from Randy and stating that he had started the disassembly of the front end and noticed someone had screwed a plate onto the firewall and when he removed it there was a big rectangular hole in the firewall!! Randy was upset and looking for advice as to how to repair the hole. My dad kinda chuckled and said boy that's the hole for a cowl plenum air cleaner!! Needless to say frustration turned to excitement. As the weeks went on Randy had pulled all the front sheet metal off and stripped the interior. Soon Randy started to become sick and would become deathly ill for long periods of time and doctors could not figure out what was wrong. He would spend months in the bed or in a wheelchair not able to walk or move. My father and I would go over and check on him and shoot the shit and ask if he wanted to sell that Camaro yet. It almost became a tradition to this. As time went on Randy would regain his strength and have a few months of getting better and then fall back into the same sickness. I remember one visit we went to visit and I was probably 16 or 17 at the time and we were talking cars like usual and I blurted out Ill trade you my 69 Camaro after I do the drivetrain swap for the 68 Z straight up. Randy just smiled and said that's an interesting offer but I am gonna have to pass. We laughed and kept talking cars and bs'ing. Finally after almost 2 decades of being ill he finally had enough and went to another doctor and in a matter of days was diagnosed as being allergic to wheat. It was insanity.. All that time and no one could figure it out..
By this time it is 2005 and Randy is back to work and getting out. We get the call that he has finally decided to sell. Needless to say the following weekend the Camaro was in its new home. Dad had wanted to see this car restored for many many years and was extremely excited to finally be able to have the opportunity to do so. I can remember later that year in 2005 I got a call from my dad and as we talked he said I need to ask you a serious question.. I thought to myself this is odd.. I said ok whats up? He asked, me and your mother are redoing our wills and I need to know which car you want.. I said I really dont wanna talk about it and whichever he wanted to give I was ok with.. He said no now I need to know; I wanna here you tell me what which one you want.. I said well.... If I were to choose I think you know which one I would want. The 68 Z. You & I wanted that car for many years and it will be amazing once its restored. I could hear him smile through the phone as his response was I knew you would say that.. Sadly the next year he lost his life to a massive heart attack. His main goal was to finish the 67 and sell it, the 68 Firebird and a few other cars and have the 68 L78 car (green car) and the 68 red Z. Like I mentioned previously I just sold the blue 67 a couple weeks back and I now have the green L78 car (after traded with my older brother). This car is more than just a car to me. It is a symbol of the love and respect a son has for his father. The goal is to make him proud of a car we would enjoy. I said it before, it may take me 20 years to finish this car but it will be dedicated to my dad; Carman Cook as it was the one car that he desperately wanted to restore and never got the chance. I will put my own twist on the restoration as I know he would approve but this one will be for him.